Facebook is often cited in health-related research as a practical option to recruit participants into research studies, but issues with recruiting verifiable and qualified participants and unpredictable costs exist. The purpose of this paper is to describe a social network theory-guided, no-cost, Facebook recruitment strategy in comparison to a traditional recruitment campaign for a national online intervention study for grandmother caregivers (n = 348); 211 participants were recruited via Facebook, and 137 through traditional techniques. Participation rates did not vary by recruitment method. Facebook participants were slightly older, higher income, and more likely to be white and married, but did not differ in education levels. Our strategy quickly obtained an engaged and committed participant base. The application of social network theory to traditional recruitment strategies represents a novel way for researchers to recruit through Facebook and yield viable and engaged participants without investing in Facebook ads.

Facebook 在健康相关研究中经常被引用作为招募参与者参与研究的实用选择，但在招募可验证和合格的参与者以及不可预测的成本方面存在问题。本文的目的是描述一种社交网络理论指导的、免费的 Facebook 招聘策略，与传统的招聘活动相比较，以进行针对祖母看护者的全国在线干预研究（n= 348); 211 名参与者是通过 Facebook 招募的，137 名参与者是通过传统技术招募的。参与率没有因招聘方法而异。Facebook 参与者年龄稍大、收入更高、更可能是白人和已婚，但教育水平没有差异。我们的策略很快获得了参与和忠诚的参与者基础。社交网络理论在传统招聘策略中的应用代表了研究人员通过 Facebook 招聘并在不投资 Facebook 广告的情况下产生有活力和参与度的参与者的新方法。